Juvenile Justice in Arkansas: Building on Success Beginning in 2008, juvenile stakeholders engaged in a year-long effort to understand how best to reshape the youth service delivery system in Arkansas. They visited programs in five other states to see...
New Kids Count report shows youth incarceration up 20 in Arkansas since 1997 The number of Arkansas youth locked up in correctional facilities went up 20 percent from 1997 to 2010, bucking a national trend, according to a report...
Black students more likely to be punished in Arkansas schools Black students in Arkansas schools are more likely to be suspended and receive corporal punishment than their white counterparts, according to a new report from Arkansas Advocates for Children...
Locking up non-violent youthful offenders does not pay Locking up non-violent youthful offenders is costly and ineffective. Using community-based alternatives to incarceration – like education, job training, drug treatment, and rehabilitation programs – saves the state $41,786 per youth...
AACF Applauds SC Ruling on Juvenile Sentencing, Says State Can Do More This morning, the Supreme Court struck down mandatory sentences of life without parole for juveniles. The decision will reverse an Arkansas court ruling in the case of...
The National Center for Youth Law and the National Council on Crime and Delinquency released a report today released a report today detailing efforts to transform the juvenile justice system in Arkansas. The gist? Efforts by government officials, advocates, judges, service providers, youth,...
U.S. Supreme Court to hear the case of an Arkansan sentenced to life without parole for a crime committed in his youth. Today, the United States Supreme Court agreed to hear an appeal filed by the Equal Justice Initiative...
Taping protects juveniles from aggressive police tactics Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families is a long-time proponent of audio and video taping of police interrogations of juvenile suspects. Recording not only protects the innocent, it helps convict the guilty...
After decades of setbacks, years of controversy, and multiple legislative hearings, it’s easy to be skeptical about anything really changing at the Arkansas Division of Youth Services (DYS). A recent legislative hearing about the large numbers of youth being...
Persistent poverty, declining drop-out rates and juvenile justice reform spotlighted. Arkansas children are better off than they were in 2000 in several key areas, but the state still ranks among the bottom of states for child well-being, according to...